The Agents, The Angels
by May a Chance
Summary: In the field, it won't be an angel saving your life because, in the field, everything is happening in an instant so it will always be your fellow agents.
_"The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men are quite capable of wickedness." Joseph Conrad_

To believe in the monsters beneath ones bed was also to believe in the idea of a guardian angel above ones head. Believing in them was most certainly not necessary, but many seemed to latch onto the innocence that the ideas presented. A monster beneath a little child's bed meant that they were normal, and that they didn't understand that the real monsters were always hidden in plain sight. A guardian angel was slightly darker and less innocent, but also more hopeful. This belief encouraged the idea that nothing could go wrong because surely an angel of God would not make a mistake and let their charge die. Of course, both were ridiculous.

The real monsters were people like George Foyet and Thomas Yates, two of the more prolific serial killers of modern history. The former killed over thirty people and tried for several more, whilst the latter had over a hundred confirmed kills and it was the sheer magnitude that kept him alive (having been place on death row previous to his reveal of victims). Likewise, the real guardian angels were people who sacrificed everything for everyone else, people like Aaron Hotchner who had saved countless lives over the course of his long FBI career. These angels were people like cops who responded to the violence, and 9-1-1 operators who were the first point of contact for a person in trouble.

So in many ways, both monsters and guardian angels existed, if not in the ways that one might believe in during early childhood.

The 'guardian angels' had many jobs. And among the less enjoyed of those jobs was recruitment visits, where the brave agents of the FBI attempted to convince malleable college students into their life style. For many reasons was this a less coveted duty, possibly because it meant that the angels were not able to do the job in catching the monsters and partially because being an angel meant bearing through other's suffering to save lives. In all honesty, being an angel was not all that it was brought up to be.

The campuses of Amherst College in Massachusetts were large and sprawling, with fields of bright green grass and large trees sprouting up here and there. Slightly out in the middle of nowhere, it was far from convenient but given that the agents (angels) of the BAU had just finished with a spree killer in Boston, it seemed only fair that they were the team sent to the beautiful campuses of the small liberal arts college.

The plan had originally been for a different set of agents, another BAU team, to attend the lecture but when a particularly curious case involving medieval torture techniques (bones literally snapped in two pieces, whilst still within the body) and a spree-killing sadist had gotten one of their agents injured, another team had been forced to step in.

This was the team (garrison) of Supervisory Special Agent (angel) Aaron Hotchner, a broad and powerful man who had spent several years as the Unit Chief of the BAU's best. With charcoal black hair and an unsmiling face, Agent Hotchner appeared every bit the stern FBI agent he was supposed to be.

A lieutenant of sorts in the team was SSA David Rossi, a well-respected founding father of the BAU and the famous author of books explaining criminal psychology. Of Italian descent, the stouter man had years of experience in profiling criminals.

Whilst Agent Hotchner was the man who had been on the team the longest, he was quickly followed by SSA Derek Morgan, a broad shouldered man with dark eyes and buzz cut hair. Following Agent Morgan's arrival on the team had been that of SSA Jennifer "JJ" Jareau, the former media liaison whom all were fond of. Even later than Agent Jareau had been the team's 'resident genius', a lanky man by the name of SSA Dr. Spencer Reid, who was commonly known amongst the team as the one with all the facts. Yet the latest of the consistent members of the BAU was the technical analyst Penelope Garcia, a cheerful woman who often remained at their base in Quantico, Virginia.

The final position on the team was the one that shifted most often, having belonged to Elle Greenaway initially. That was before the brunette had been shot and almost killed, the events scarcely preceding her permanent retirement from the FBI. Then had been an ex-CIA agent by the name of Emily Prentiss, whose death was faked before she was alive again before she came to work in an Interpol office in London.

Currently, the position went to Dr. Alex Blake, a professor at a college in Quantico and an esteemed agent repairing the respect that had been stripped from her ten years previously.

There was a certain distaste in the eyes of all of the agents of the BAU, a look that specifically said, "We could be anywhere in the country, saving lives, but here we are at an isolated college talking about what we do for a living."

Perhaps the look was most prominent in Agent Morgan, who had an expressive face and a certain, concentrated disdain for college recruitment talks. He let out a long suffering sigh, gazing up at the beautiful building that housed the 'Law, Jurisdiction and Social Thought' lecture halls.

Of the group, it was Agent Jareau and Agent Rossi that looked the least disdainful whilst still holding facial expression, unlike Agent Hotchner whose stoic face allowed not a single emotion to shine through. Agent Jareau had her blonde hair resting around her shoulders and a slight smile that said she might just be looking forwards to the interactions that were to come. On the other hand, Agent Rossi looked more amused by the whole situation than thoughtful.

Perhaps she was simply a wonderful actor, but the blond agent's words did not match her face; "Henry was hoping to have me home tonight," she murmured in reference to her five year old son. "I was gonna read him a story."

Just behind her and slightly to the left, Agent Reid grimaced. "Statistically speaking, the odds of any of these students actually joining the FBI are extremely low. I did some reading on the way over and Amherst is a high-end college. Most of the students here will end up living low risk lifestyles." There was something about the way the young man spoke that was particular only to him. It was in the way he enunciated and put pressure on certain words, in the matter-of-fact tone that he could use whilst still seeming somewhere else. "To be perfectly honest, there is little to no point in us being here."

"We'll probably just scare them off," Agent Morgan grumbled under his breath, ignoring the side glances he received from his team. "Seriously, the second someone asks about getting hurt on the job," he mimed a gun pointing at his head, "We're done." Here, the dark skinned agent mimed pulling the trigger and the kick that the gun would have.

As though such interactions were common place, Agent Hotchner rolled his eyes before starting forward across the grounds. The few students outside in the chilly weather did glance up at the profiling team, but none seemed to pay particular attention to the group.

The warm air within the ornate building came as a welcome relief the agents and they were greeted by a man appearing to be a professor. Hair that was probably once dark had begun to gray and he had a shapeless face. The man held out a hand to Agent Hotchner, speaking as he did so. "I'm Colin Grant, the professor of Law, Jurisdiction and Social Thought. It's a pleasure to meet you. I presume that you're the representatives from the FBI?"

Agent Hotchner politely shook the man's hand. "I'm Agent Hotchner, these are SSA's Rossi, Morgan, Jareau, Blake and Dr. Reid." All of the agents, save for Dr. Reid, stepped forward to shake the man's hand. "We're here from the BAU to do a recruitment seminar, yes."

Quickly, the professor led the small group of agents into the lecture hall, gesturing towards the front of the room. "I have to say, our students are quite interested in hearing about what you have to say. We sometimes review old FBI case files and it's often one of the favoured activities of the class. We have come to find that you do your work well."

"We have to; if we don't, people get hurt."

The professor grimaced at the unpleasant thought. A student slipped into the room, coming to sit at a seat a few rows back. Slowly, the auditorium filled with students; most carried bags of some sort, ranging from the messenger bags that Dr. Reid used to a more typical backpack. Several of the students carried all of their books in their hands, what looked like a chaotic balance of books, notes and pens.

Despite his calm presence, Professor Grant easily took charge of the room once it had filled, hushing the excited chatter of at least a hundred students and directing their attention the Behavioural Analysis Unit with the sweep of a hand.

More commanding in aura, Agent Hotchner began a quick stream of introductions. "My name is Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner; this is my team SSA's Rossi, Morgan, Jareau, Blake and Dr. Reid." As he introduced each agent, he gestured to where they stood. Dr. Reid had his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his dark slacks, whilst Agent Blake had her arms firmly crossed and her gaze cold. "We're here from the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI. Can anyone tell me what we do?"

A girl sitting towards the front of her room raised her hand. "The BAU is a section working with behavioural science in order to catch serial killers."

Leaning against the back wall, Agent Rossi nodded confirmation. "That is correct. Our unit deals with the killers most likely to drop another body soon. We choose where we go based on the impending danger for the residents and visitors of that particular area."

"We do what is referred to as profiling criminals based on their victimology and em-oh or _modus operandi_. Whilst most officers and detectives are trained to see only the physical details, our work goes into seeing what emotions went into the kill, and with these elements we are able to find our unknown subject or unsub." With his hands stuffed into his pockets, Dr. Reid stood next to Agent Jareau; the blonde woman shot the younger agent a grin.

Someone scoffed, and whilst Agent Hotchner seemed fully prepared to ignore them Agent Blake stepped up to the plate. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that-?" She locked her steely gaze onto a student in the back of the room whose backpack sat firmly on his lap.

The boy ducked his head slightly but forged onwards. "How can you catch a killer based solely on the way they kill people. Don't you need, like, evidence or something? DNA, fingerprints?"

Agent Jareau spoke up at that bit. "I can recall a case in which we were able to find a killer with a pile of bones that had been sitting in the ocean for years. From there it was deductive reasoning."

"Once we find our person, we bring them in and if we don't have solid enough evidence we get a confession."

The talk continued as such, the agents explaining varying parts of their jobs and asking questions, normally receiving even more questions in response. They explained, in detail, a case involving rib bones, an aging potential victim turned lover named Jane and a prolific serial killer named Frank Breitkopf. A psychopath, they explained, incapable of feeling any form of empathy. Coupled with his manipulative capabilities, intelligence and narcissism, Breitkopf had been a made killer.

"Breitkopf dissected his victims whilst they were still alive, being forced to watch what he did to them. It's actually quite fascinating how many organs the humanbody can lose before shutting down."

Moving past the horrible topic, the team guided discussions more towards recruitment and the academy itself.

"Before joining the FBI, there are two things you need to consider very carefully. Are you prepared to aim your gun and kill someone to save a hostage. Are you prepared to die for the people of your country." An uneasy silence came over the room with Agent Hotchner's words.

Shifting in his seat, one student asked the question on every student's minds. "Is that really so common? I mean, having to kill in the line of duty, or being killed yourself?"

A glance was shot at Dr. Reid, and the young man spoke up on behalf of his team. "I was twenty-four when I first took a life. There were twenty-some people in the emergency room of a hospital, along with myself and Agent Hotchner. When it came down to it, Philip Dowd's death probably saved the lives of every person in that room. In the end, I don't regret having killed him because I can't possibly known what would have happened if I didn't. As often as we can, we try to save the lives of both the victims and the perpetrators but if that is not possible, then we take the shot at the unsub and pray that we haven't messed up. Despite our best precautions, being harmed ourselves isn't as uncommon as we would prefer it to be. I have been shot, beaten, tortured, drugged up and even killed. I'd go through it all again if it meant saving just one more life."

The silence that came upon the room was uncomfortable, spanning for several seconds before the same student spoke up again. "Do you have a guardian angel?"

In surprise, Dr. Reid blinked. "I believe that the only guardian angels in this world are the people who devote their lives to protecting others. So in some ways I do have a guardian angel. My mother protects me as best she can from home, and encourages me to get a safer job at every opportunity she gets. My team protects me in the field, and in any of the situations that I mentioned I would be dead if not for them."

"What the good doctor means to say," Agent Jareau interjected, "is that he doesn't need a supernatural force to protect him because, in the field, we will always have his back just as he will always have ours."

 _Here I amend my previous statement. The belief in a supernatural source of good is not necessary. Humans are quite capable of good deeds._


End file.
